Sault and area residents may want to make sure their Ontario health cards are in order.
“Over the past few years, we've seen a big increase in patients without health cards or insurance,” said Ila Watson, SAH president and CEO, in a written report to the hospital’s board of directors delivered at Monday’s board meeting.
The hospital has put a significant amount of work into managing patients with expired health cards over the last year, the board was told.
The SAH communications team has informed the public through social media about updating health cards.
SAH has added signage with QR codes so that patients, staff and visitors can access Service Ontario for more information about Ontario health cards.
“At registration, patients with expired cards now receive a letter explaining how to renew their card, who to notify, and that they may be billed if it’s not updated. This work is ongoing, and we’re taking more steps to help patients,” Watson said in her report.